Retirement
by Pikapegasus
Summary: "I mean us, you and me, a former CEO and his successor, trying to make things work in the midst of their crazy busy lives. Plus the whole superhero thing, which is his night job, though he works overtime occasionally and has to deal with worldwide threats for several days at a time," Tony says. "Pretty romantic-sounding, huh?" (Pepperony Week 2017, Day 4: Quote/lyrics)


**A/N:** so i'm using lyrics from one of my favorite songs ! "all i want" by kodaline and yes it was in the fault in our stars (2014) and yes i'm an angsty teen haha,,, in reality, i just love this verse in the song, and the whole idea of "dude our relationship is so epic honestly they should make a movie out of it?" just fit pepperony to me ? lmao (plus it kinda comes true anyway...case in point: the entire mcu)

takes place between im3 and aou !

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Pepperony Week 2017, Day 4: Quote/lyrics

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"So you brought out the best of me—a part of me I've never seen. You took my soul and wiped it clean. Our love was made for movie screens."

—"All I Want" by Kodaline (featured in _The Fault in Our Stars_ )

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"I think," Tony declares absentmindedly one day, Pepper curled into him as they lounge on the couch of his— _their_ —recently renovated home in Malibu, "they should write a book about us."

" _Us?_ " Pepper echoes, looking up at him from her place on his chest. "Not just Iron Man?"

"Iron Man's just a plot device," he says, dismissing it with his hand. "I mean _us_ , you and me, a former CEO and his successor, trying to make things work in the midst of their crazy busy lives. Plus the whole superhero thing, which is his night job, though he works overtime occasionally and has to deal with worldwide threats for several days at a time. Pretty romantic-sounding, huh?"

"I suppose it could be turned into an epic romance," she says, a small smile forming on her face. It's been overcast throughout the day (a rarity in spring in Southern California), but sunlight finally breaks through the clouds, illuminating Pepper's hair. "Where's all of this coming from?"

"Well," he shrugs, "I can't be Iron Man or an Avenger forever, gotta plan for retirement, y'know? Maybe invest in the book industry a bit. Those tragic Y.A. romance novels sell like hotcakes these days. We could make bank on that."

"I don't think you have to worry too much about retiring comfortably," she teases. "You have more than enough saved up for that."

"It'd be a fun side project," he says. "Maybe we'll get bored in our retirement, who knows?"

"Now it's _our_ retirement?" She raises an eyebrow, sitting up.

"Uh, yeah. Unless something's not working out…?"

He trails off, but she takes one of his hands into hers, holding it carefully. Her eyes twinkle with something akin to happiness. "I'm looking forward to our retirement."

"Oh, good. You had me scared for a moment there." He returns her soft smile. "Okay. Well, maybe not a book. How about a movie? We'd definitely be a big hit. Action-packed romance."

"Maybe it should be a rom com," she suggests.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"It'd attract a large female audience. We could even release it on Valentine's Day!"

"I'm scrapping this idea now," he says, admitting defeat with a shake of his head. She laughs.

"I'm just saying, our story could make a good rom com," she says, relaxing against the couch. She lets go of his hand to run her fingers through her hair briefly, brushing it to the side.

"We're one of the farthest things from a conventional couple."

"Maybe because of the circumstances—our jobs and Iron Man and everything—but we still have our moments."

(Tony hasn't seen a lot of rom coms, and he's never known Pepper to have an affinity for them, so she's still probably partially joking, but she's not wrong; the emotional aspects of their relationship have always hit him hard and fast, leaving him more dazed and windswept than a mission spent flying around in the suit.)

(Rom coms are pretty cheesy and cliche, though, right? Perhaps the way he feels whole when Pepper's around, like a person changed for the better, just by her consistent presence and bold personality, is part of the whole rom com thing. He really has no idea.)

"I think it's time for a third idea," he finally says, leaning into her. He rests his head on her shoulder. "Maybe a podcast?"

"Why would we make a podcast?" she asks, amusement lining her words. "What would it even be about?"

"We could give out relationship advice," he suggests, but then laughs at his own words just three seconds later. She's giggling, too, shaking her head. "Yeah. Okay. Scrapped. Fourth idea?"

"Just enjoy retirement by traveling the world and doing whatever we want to, whenever we want to?" she suggests, pressing a kiss to his hair.

He grins. "I guess that doesn't sound half bad."

(In all honesty, it doesn't really matter, because as long as Pepper's there with him, anything would be an adventure.)


End file.
